South Korea decides not to send leaflets and DVDs criticizing Pyongyang to North

March 23, 2015, 10:58 UTC+3TOKYOThe organization planned to deliver leaflets and discs with "The Interview" movie about a fictional assassination attempt on Kim Jong-un by air balloons and drones which caused Pyongyang outrage

TOKYO, March 23. /TASS/. An organization of defectors from North Korea has decided not to carry out its plan to send around 500,000 leaflets criticizing Pyongyang’s policy and several thousand copies of "The Interview" Hollywood film about a fictional assassination attempt on Kim Jong-un, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday, citing leaders of the Movement for Free North Korea organization.

The organization planned to deliver leaflets and discs to North Korea by air balloons and drones. Pyongyang threatened to use military means to destroy them. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) warned on Sunday that its military will strike down air balloons carrying provocative leaflets from South Korea. Seoul said it will respond reciprocally to any military actions by the North.

DPRK military said in an open statement is considers as "the crudest political provocation and declaration of war" South Korea’s plans to send around leaflets and DVDs to North Korea on March 26. Seoul’s move was in line with the fifth anniversary of South Korea’s Cheonan navy ship crash. Seoul and Washington blame North Korean military for the incident, while Pyongyang denies any involvement.

According to the military’s statement, North Korea is particularly indignant over South’s plans to send several thousands of disks with "The Interview," a film that insults the North Korean leadership.

North’s military "will strike down without warning air balloons and drones with agitation materials launched to DPRK." Pyongyang also recommended residents of South Korea to "leave those regions from which the launches are planned in the interests of their own security."

This led to another escalation in relations between Pyongyang and Seoul. Kyodo said that South Korea managed to persuade defectors not to proceed with their plans.

Last October, defectors launched air balloons with leaflets to North Korea, but Pyongyang responded with machine-gun fire. No one was injured in the incident.